Democracy in Southeast Asia

This course investigates the various types of democratic, semi-democratic and non-democratic governance in Southeast Asia, and pays particular attention to the electoral systems applied in each state. After introducing some key theoretical debates on democracy and elections, the course will examinine the state of democracy in the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia and Indonesia. In doing so, the course measures each country's level of electoral competitiveness, political rights and civil liberties. Subsequently, we will analyse non-democratic regimes in Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Burma and Singapore), and discuss how these states instrumentalise elections in order to gain popular legitimacy. In approaching its subject, the course also analyses the socio-political environment of democratic and authoritarian rule in Southeast Asian states, discussing in particular the role of the media, social inequality, and gender issues. The primary objective of the course is to provide students with a solid understanding of the various types of political regimes that exist in Southeast Asia, and advance their knowledge about the complex relationship between democracy, elections and civil liberties, both in the Southeast Asian region and other parts of the world.